"Summer in the Gallery," which runs until June 30, features pieces that evoke the season and that were created by five local artists: Linda Busse, Sheila Passenier, Richard Thompson, Ann Trowbridge and Elizabeth Reynders.
The pieces on display include watercolor and oil paintings, photographs and pastels, according to Polly Doctor, who organized the exhibit. She said the artwork featured a "mixture" of subjects.
"There are some portraits," she said. "It's a lot of landscapes and there are, of course, some still life with the photography."
Doctor added that the five artists are displaying their work in the gallery for the first time, although they have shown work in other galleries in the area.
All the artists' work will be on sale.
The Bettye Clark Cannon Gallery is located on the second floor of the Hilt Building, inside the Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts, 425 W. Western Ave.
Visitors can view the exhibit Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with extended hours on show nights. Admission to the exhibit is free.
The gallery will also host a free "Meet the Artists" reception on June 7 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Doctor said the reception was a chance for the public to engage the artists.
"It's just an opportunity for our guests to meet the artist and ask questions about their work," she said.
Light refreshments will be served at the reception. There will also be a cash bar.
For more information, visit www.frauenthal.org or call (231) 722-2890.
You can email Lisha Arino at larino@mlive.com, subscribe to her Facebook posts and follow her on Twitter: @lishaarino.
Source: www.mlive.com
California Focus - Hydrogen highway grants fail the smell test - Ukiah Daily Journal
Millions of dollars in "hydrogen highway" grants by a state commission are drawing cries of favoritism and collusion as they seem to guarantee that most refueling stations for the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles due to hit the road by 2017 will be owned by two large companies closely aligned with auto manufacturers.
Very quietly, the California Energy Commission is letting carmakers seven of the eight companies involved are foreign-owned decide which proposals for building hydrogen stations get the grants, authorized by a law passed in 2007.
So far, virtually all grants have gone to two corporations that deal in industrial chemicals including liquefied and compressed natural gas, among other products the German-based Linde Group and Pennsylvania-based Air Products and Chemicals Inc. Recent grants to build the stations range from $1.4 million to $2 million each.
"It's unprecedented for these companies to decide how state money is spent," says Jamie Court, president of the Consumer Watchdog public advocacy group. "It amounts to turning the keys of the state treasury over to large corporations."
Meanwhile, at almost the same moment the Energy Commission gave preliminary approval to its most recent $23 million in grants to Linde and Air Products, the state Public Utilities Commission agreed to a lawsuit settlement with NRG Energy Inc. Since 2010, NRG has owned most assets of Dynegy Inc., one of the major electric generators that bilked California consumers out
of about $10 billion during the energy crunch of 2000 and 2001.The settlement has NRG building $100 million worth of electric car recharging stations it will own, thus assuring it will be the biggest owner of such stations for years to come. Given that leg up for NRG, it will be difficult for smaller companies to compete, a problem also set up by the Energy Commission policy.
Both Linde and Air Products are members of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, which promotes development of hydrogen cars. Others among the 32 partners include the Energy Commission and the eight carmakers Toyota, Daimler Benz, GM, Nissan, Hyundai, Chrysler, Honda and Volkswagen. That means the commission and the automakers have steered virtually all grants to their own partners. The partnership says all members pay the same dues, but won't give an amount. The Energy Commission reports it paid $87,000 to belong for 2012..
"The grant process appears totally rigged," says Court, noting there is at least the appearance of collusion between the partner companies.
Another who believes there is illegal collusion is Paul Staples, president of Eureka-based HyGen Industries, which convinced 15 service station owners in prime locations across California to permit HyGen hydrogen pumps at their sites. These would look somewhat like today's diesel fuel pumps.
But HyGen has had only one site approved by a carmaker, a station in West Hollywood. So Staples didn't apply for one of the recent grants, explaining that one station would not allow sufficient economies of scale in making hydrogen fuel from water. Linde and Air Products locations, meanwhile, won approval from their partner carmakers for the gas-tax-funded grants.
"The collusion is as obvious as the nose on your face," said Staples. "It would be funny if it weren't so serious. Even the yearly dues are so high small companies need not apply."
The Energy Commission says it lets carmakers okay or veto refueling grant sites because they "possess confidential market data on potential early adopter fuel cell vehicle purchasers (like most hybrids, the first fuel cell cars will cost more than ordinary ones). On the basis of this confidential business information, (automakers) can identifyŠstations with the highest potential for high volume use."
It's hard to see how any carmaker would rationally believe one approved site at the same address as an Air Products plant in industrial Wilmington, near the Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor, would draw many car owners or why it's worthy of $2 million in tax money. But that's one grant approved by a car manufacturer and tentatively rubber-stamped in April by the Energy Commission.
Both carmakers and the commission ignored proposed HyGen sites in places like San Francisco, Pacific Palisades, Sacramento and Newport Beach, locales where swarms of hybrids were bought soon after they first became available. Asked why the Wilmington site is better suited for state money, the commission said only that it never got applications for any of the others. But applications for them were not feasible since no carmaker would approve them. Catch 22.
And yet, the commission insists "There is no evidence to support the allegation of (collusion)" between carmakers and their chosen grant recipients.
The bottom line: Nothing will now undo the decision on electric car refueling stations. But there's still time for the Energy Commission to wake up and stop letting carmakers decide who gets its taxpayer-funded grants.
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government's Campaign to Squelch It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net
Source: www.ukiahdailyjournal.com
California says it shouldn't have to return foreign-bought execution drug to FDA - 89.3 KPCC
CDCR
California's lethal injection chamber at San Quentin State Prison.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is arguing that it doesn't have to give up its stock of the lethal injection drug sodium thiopental to the federal government. In a letter dated May 1, 2012, CDCR General Counsel Benjamin Rice told Domenic Veneziano, director of the FDA's Division of Import Operations and Policy, that "CDCR must decline to return the thiopental in its possession at this time."
The letter was in response to the FDA's order in April that states that imported the execution drug from abroad stop using them and return them to the FDA.
The drug, sodium thiopental, is an anesthetic used by many states as an execution drug. In California, the drug is the first of three used — the condemned inmate is first put to sleep using thiopental, then given a paralyzing drug, followed by a third drug that stops his or her heart.
In 2010, the US experienced a massive shortfall in sodium thiopental supplies because the sole US manufacturer lacked a necessary ingredient. That firm, Hospira, was also the only source of the drug approved by the FDA. The company has since completely abandoned making the drug, as it had always objected to its use in executions.
Amidst this scarcity, California and several other states purchased sodium thiopental from a company in the United Kingdom. Some have used the drug in executions. At the time, the FDA, did not interfere with the states importing the drug.
In April of this year, following a lawsuit by death row inmates, the FDA issued a letter ordering the states that bought foreign drugs to return their supplies to the agency. The inmates had argued the drugs had not been reviewed for their effectiveness. If the drug didn't work properly, they argued, they could experience severe pain during an execution, a violation of the Eight Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
The CDCR, in its May 1 letter, the CDCR urged the FDA to appeal the ruling in the death row inmates' suit, Cook v. FDA. The FDA apparently agrees. On Friday, the agency filed papers in federal court to appeal the ruling's ban on importing foreign sodium thiopental.
Source: www.scpr.org
California's Coronado named nation's best beach - The Guardian
JULIE WATSON
Associated Press= CORONADO, Calif. (AP) — Like a Hollywood star, Coronado's 1.5 mile-long beach literally sparkles, thanks to the mineral mica glinting in its sand.
That's one of the reasons why Coronado — flanked by the iconic hotel featured in Marilyn Monroe's 1958 film "Some Like It Hot" — has been named the No. 1 beach in the United States in the 2012 survey by "Dr. Beach" professor Stephen P. Leatherman of Florida International University.
It is the first time "Dr. Beach" has given the top slot to California in the more than two decades that he has been ranking beaches in the United States based on their environmental quality and safety for swimmers.
Coronado Beach, on a peninsula across the bay from San Diego, has near-perfect Mediterranean weather and a postcard backdrop.
"I think it's one of the most super beaches around," said Leatherman, director of FIU's Laboratory for Coastal Research.
Rounding out the top 10 this year were No. 2, Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii; No. 3, Main Beach, East Hampton, N.Y.; No. 4, St. George Island State Park, Florida Panhandle; No. 5, Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii; No. 6, Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.; No. 7, Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii; No. 8, Cape Florida State Park near Miami.; No. 9, Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, S.C.; and No. 10, Cape Hatteras in North Carolina.
Leatherman ranks beaches on 50 criteria, including the look and feel of the sand, water quality, weather, facilities and crowds. A top score is 250. Coronado came in the 230s, losing points because its water temperature hovering in the 60s allows for only a quick dip for most, Leatherman said. California's chilly coastal waters have cost its pristine beaches points when they've been up against balmy contenders in Florida and Hawaii in the past. Coronado Beach was runner-up last year to Florida's Siesta Beach. Once a beach tops Leatherman's list, it is retired from consideration for future rankings.
A No. 1 spot on the popular list typically brings a 15-to-20-percent boost in visitors.
Leatherman said Coronado is great for skim boarding (gliding on the water with a small, finless surfboard) and walking. The wide, flat beach is lined by majestic mansions and the Hotel del Coronado. Known as "Hotel Del," the National Historic Landmark with its peaked red roof was built in 1888 and is the last of California's Victorian seaside resorts.
Coronado is also the name of the swanky-yet-quaint city on a peninsula populated by Navy officers and some of California's wealthiest. It can be reached by ferry boat for a few dollars from downtown San Diego.
There is free parking at the beach but it is on a public street so it can be challenging, Leatherman said.
On a recent spring afternoon, tourists from China to Russia sprawled out on its beach in front of "Hotel Del," lounging on blankets in the sun. A Navy ship dotted the horizon. One man aimed his camera upward, thrilled as the quiet lapping of waves was interrupted with the roar of a Navy jet from a nearby base doing a training exercise.
Lifelong San Diego County resident 55-year-old Nellie Landeros said it is her favorite beach.
"It's gorgeous," she said. "Just the setting alone feels like we're in another world."
Billy Pavlacka, 51, has been visiting Coronado Beach weekly for 30 years. Known as "The Sand Castle Man," Pavlacka was building a towering castle with rows of arches and spheres. He said he spotted an aircraft carrier and submarine earlier that day. Flecks of the glittery mica mineral make the sand shimmer in the sunlight.
"If you look at the sand you can see it sparkling," said a tanned Pavlacka, with gray locks peeking out from under his baseball cap. "People ask me all the time if it's gold."
The top 10 list is in its 22nd year.
Beaches do not pay to be evaluated for the top 10 best beaches list. Leatherman said he visits top 10 candidates incognito to collect sand and water samples for study.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
California Virtual Academies Congratulates Class of 2012 - Yahoo Finance
SIMI VALLEY, Calif., May 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- California Virtual Academies (CAVA), a network of online public charter schools serving thousands of students in kindergarten through 12th grade across the state, honored more than 540 high school graduates during its three 2012 graduation ceremonies.
CAVA offers the award winning K12 curriculum individualized to each student's specific academic needs taught by California-certified teachers. Students come from a wide variety of backgrounds including accelerated learners, students of military families, athletes and performers, and students who were not succeeding in traditional schools.
The ceremonies took place at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse in San Gabriel, CA; Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa, CA and Vacaville Performing Arts Center in Vacaville, CA. Speakers at all three graduations were CAVA alumni who have gone on either to college or successful careers. One of the valedictorians for the class of 2012, Christine Lozano, from Imperial, CA, was awarded a $96,000 scholarship to attend La Tourneau University in Texas in the fall to pursue civil engineering.
"We're proud to celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of each of our graduates," said Katrina Abston, Senior Head of School at CAVA. "The graduation ceremonies recognize not only their achievements, but the encouragement and support of their families and teachers."
More about CAVA
California Virtual Academies are full-time, fully accredited online public charter schools serving students in grades K through 12. As part of the California public school system, CAVA is tuition-free, giving parents and families the choice to access the award-winning curriculum and academic programs provided by K12 Inc. (LRN), the nation's largest provider of proprietary curriculum and online education programs for students in kindergarten through high school. For more information about CAVA, visit www.k12.com/cava
Source: finance.yahoo.com
California racing board suspends I'll Have Another's trainer Doug O'Neill - Calgary Herald
Doug O'Neill, the trainer of Canadian-owned Triple Crown hopeful I'll Have Another, was suspended 45 days after one of his horses had an excessive level of carbon dioxide, but the punishment won't start before he saddles his Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner in the Belmont Stakes on June 9.
The suspension comes in the final weeks of I'll Have Another's attempt to become horse racing's 12th Triple Crown winner and first since Affirmed 34 years ago. The colt trained by O'Neill won the Derby on May 5 and then took the Preakness last Saturday.
The California Horse Racing Board met in closed session Thursday at Betfair Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif., to consider the recommended decision of a hearing officer in O'Neill's case. The board agreed with the officer's recommendations, which included the maximum punishment and fine — $15,000 — for the trainer.
While elevated carbon dioxide is associated with "milkshaking," the officer agreed with O'Neill that his horse Argenta had not been fed a mixture of bicarbonate of soda, sugar and electrolytes that enhances performance and combats fatigue. The officer did not indicate what may have caused the overage.
"I'm gratified that the CHRB found that I did not "milkshake" a horse or engage in any intentional conduct that would result in an elevated TC02 level," O'Neill said in a statement issued after the ruling. "I plan on examining and reviewing all of my options following the Belmont Stakes, but right now I plan on staying focused on preparing for and winning the Triple Crown."
The suspension comes at a time when racing is under heavy scrutiny for the way horses are prepared for their races, and which medications are administered to them.
O'Neill had vigorously proclaimed his innocence in the 2010 case from the beginning, and said he spent US$250,000 defending himself.
"I know I didn't milkshake a horse. None of us around the barn milkshaked any horses," O'Neill said Wednesday. "You got to have rules and I respect rules, but when you get faulty science involved, it costs a lot of money unfortunately, but you've got to fight it and that's what we're doing."
O'Neill was cited by the racing board after Argenta tested for a high level of TCO2 — a Class 3 violation — in its blood after finishing eighth in a race at Del Mar on Aug. 25, 2010.
The officer found there were no suspicious betting patterns in the race and that there was no evidence of any intentional acts on the part of O'Neill in connection with the incident.
However, before the hearing, the parties had stipulated that the Maddy Laboratory at UC Davis detected an excess level of TCO2 in the horse's blood sample, and CHRB Rule 1887 holds a trainer to be ultimately responsible for the condition of a horse.
Based on that rule and mitigating factors, the hearing officer recommended that O'Neill should be suspended for 45 days, with an additional 135 days stayed for 18 months, provided he commits no further Class 1, 2 or 3 violations in any state. The racing board agreed with the recommendations.
CHRB executive director Kirk Breed will decide when O'Neill's suspension will begin, but it will be no sooner than July 1.
The Jockey Club has said that elevated total carbon dioxide levels, regardless of cause, are violations of the rules and penalties for excessive TCO2 are severe. It urges trainers and their veterinarians to work closely to identify any procedure or practices that may elevate such levels in horses.
I'll Have Another is owned by Windsor, Ont., native J. Paul Reddam.
Source: www.canada.com
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